Eto’o receives Euro Medal of Tolerance
LONDON (Reuters) – Former Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o called for racist soccer fans to feel the full weight of the law as he returned to London on Monday to collect an award for his stance against intolerance. The Cameroonian striker, who has been singled out for racial abuse during his career, said he had been shocked by video footage last month showing a group of Chelsea fans preventing a black man boarding a metro train in Paris. “Of course I was shocked by the situation, but it’s true also that Chelsea has millions of fans and it’s these 10 fans here, let’s say are not representative of all these other fans,” African soccer’s most decorated player told Reuters before the presentation at Kensington Palace. Eto’o, now playing for Sampdoria in Italy, was awarded the European Medal of Tolerance by the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR), a non-governmental campaigning organization. “You know, we are just now in the middle of a very, very big crisis in Europe; crisis of racism, radicalism,” said ECTR president Moshe Kantor, who warned of a growing problem in Europe. “First of all religious radicalism, neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism. And we decided to find some strong vehicles to promote the values, the positive values, not only to criticise negative things but also to promote positive values, and do you know football is an outstanding tool for this, outstanding tool.” The Russian-born Kantor, who is also president of the European Jewish Congress, praised Eto’o for having the courage and will to stand against the racists, building awareness and inspiring fellow soccer players and millions of fans. “Samuel Eto’o demonstrated himself not only as a victim of racism but as a fighter with racism, as a hunter. You know by the way he’s... the fans of the world call him ‘hunter,’ why? Because he’s using any possible opportunity to score, and we think that he could be as an envoy of the ECTR he could be a real hunter with racism,” Kantor said. Eto’o has also played for Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Anzhi Makhachkala and Everton in a career that has seen him win the Champions League three times. He experienced racism in Spain in 2006, while with Barcelona, when he threatened to walk off after Zaragoza supporters made monkey noises whenever he had the ball. In Italy, playing for Inter against Cagliari, the referee stopped the match when Cagliari fans made racist chants. Eto’o went on to score the winning goal.